If we were to reconceptualize our orientation to research in doctoral study based on the issues raised in this article, we might begin by acknowledging that academics and practitioners bring different concerns and values into university class rooms. When practicing teachers and administrators enter doctoral study, their interests and concerns typically align with those who work in the corridors and class rooms of their schools. To many educators, conventional research often seems too removed from the everyday realities of their lives. How, then, do we prepare practical scholars who are capable of understanding, valuing, and ultimately using research to inform their practice?